Computers Add New Twists To Medical School Training

"Physicians will not be able to practice medicine in the next century without computers. Individual hospitals and medical centers will have their own intranets, as will health care systems." Robert Trelstad,Professor and Chairman of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine,Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. THE TIME FACTOR: Southwestern’s M. David Low says medical school faculty may worry about development time for computer-based instruction. Most physicians and educators agree that computers are worthwhile investments for medical schools. They have revolutionized access to information and allowed institutions to incorporate self-learning tutorials into their curricula. In some cases, computer-simulated surgical procedures are being used to train physicians. There are even devices being developed that permit the user to "operate" in virtual reality. As the computer dramatically alters the way medicine is taught and becomes a standard, indispensable part of the biomedical researcher's arsenal, scientists see those with up-to-date computer skills as having advantages in getting ...